Light of Another Kind
by Gbav115
Summary: Grant is a Guardian. A Hunter to be accurate. He fought the Darkness for over 2000 years. When he is sent to an unknown location, a location without the light or darkness he is used to, He must find a purpose. He finds one with Shepard, a human filled with light, but not the Travelers. Its a Light of Another Kind.
1. Chapter One:Lost From Time

**Author's Note**

 **Welcome to the rewritten version of** _ **Light of Another Kind**_ **. Grant will still be the Guardian in this new version, the only thing that has really changed is the Mass Effect time period, and my Destiny timeline. Instead of 2500 years, Grant is much younger, only around 600. Without further delay, let us begin.**

 _ **Disclaimer: I own neither Destiny Nor Mass Effect**_

 **OOOOOOO**

 _Six Guardians entered the Vault lled by Kabr The Legionless. Each one trusted the man who led them with their lives. Two, Jane and Tyler, were erased from existence, the only evidence of them having been recovered from the Vault. Praedyth was taken by the Gorgons, locked into the dark corners of time. Pahanin managed to escape, forever scarred by what happened within the Vex stronghold until his death by Dredgen Yor's treachery. Kabr died alone, using what remained of his light to form the Aegis which allowed Guardians an anchor to this reality. Grant disappeared, one of the only Nightstalkers at the time vanished within the Vault. It is believed that even the Vex do not know where he is._

 _\- Story of the first raid into the Vault of Glass-_

 **OOOOOOO**

How long has he been wandering these caves. The endless dark tunnels stretched before him and behind him. He knew not how long he has traversed the abyss. The time has blended together for him. He hasn't spoken in what feels like forever, and no time at all. His Ghost hasn't spoken or appeared to him since they entered the Vault, the man frowned. What were their names? Who were they? Who was he? His mind was slipping again. He could feel the Vex warping reality around him. Was he even himself? Was he simply a simulation? Or was he a Vex thinking he was a man? He passed by a reflective surface and saw himself. Or was it someone else? He reached up, and the reflection followed suit, he put both hands onto his helmet, and removed it, just to see if he could. The empty maw that once held purple flame staring back at him, and from under his hood he could see himself. Or what he thought was him.

Pale skin and pure black hair was what he saw, gold eyes with exhaustion written in them. Or was it fear? Both? A metal hand rested on the grip of a weapon at his right hip. He couldn't remember when he lost the hand, or was his hand always this way? His leg was the same. Metal taken from the Vex made up his entire left leg. How did he fall so far? How did he get here? As he turned to leave he saw his torn, broken cloak with the golden sun flutter behind him, and he stopped. A named vaguely appeared in his mind. Who gave him the cloak again? It started with an O. Odysseus? Orion? No those weren't it. He shrugged, it didn't matter. Reaching back, he removed his glove from his hand of flesh and grabbed the cloak, felt it to make sure it was real.

He continued on, slipping his hand back into the glove, and putting the helmet back on his head. He walked along the edge of a seemingly endless ravine now, pillars jutting up from an unseen bottom, each holding some piece of technology from those who were seemingly toying with him. He looked over the edge of the ravine and tried to see anything within the void below. At times he swore he could see flashes of his friends. Stopping once more he thought.

" _Did I have friends? Was I alone? Will I be lost forever?"_

All around him was darkness, rock, and machine. He stopped and looked at a reflective surface, he raised his hand, and the reflection did the same. He took a step back.

" _I have already done this. Haven't I?"_

Fear jolted through him. He needed to escape. But he has tried before. There is no way out. He looked around, looked at the gate across the ravine from him. He could get out through that. If he ever managed to activate it. Or would entering through it be a mistake? He sat down. He needed to think. He needed to drag himself back from the insanity that was gripping his mind once again. Every time his mind began to slip into the eternal abyss of insanity he did this. He sat down with his head in his hands he spoke aloud and reminded himself of who he is.

"I am Grant. A Guardian from the Tower. My goal has always been to protect the Last City. I came here to defeat the Vex with… with… What were their names?" Grant began to breathe heavily, panic began to seed itself within his mind. He used to be able to remember their names during this exercise.

Grant reached down and pulled the hand cannon at his hip from its' holster. It was one of the only anchors he had left to himself. He had created it himself during his time wandering Earth before the City was built. Engraved into the side of the barrel was the cannons name, _Outlaw's Gambit_. The weapon used Golden Age technology to make the first shot much more powerful than the others, but as he chains headshots against enemies it somehow increases its damage per shot.

A flash to his right made him flinch in shock. Floating in front of him was a Ghost. His Ghost. He hasn't seen his Ghost in who knows how long, and now it finally shows up? Grant lifts his hand cannon towards it, this has to be some sort of trick.

" _[Stand down Guardian!]"_

Grant stopped himself from pulling the trigger. Even if this was a trick, what would be the harm in hearing it out. Lowering his gun, he prepared himself to listen to it, however he didn't holster the weapon.

" _[I found us a way out. I am sorry I left you here alone, but I needed to find it before you went insane, and I am happy that I am just in time.]"_

Those words hit Grant like a torch cannon from a Minotaur. A way out? He has been looking for one of those, but didn't actually believe there was a way out. He was about to tell the Ghost to lead the way, but stopped himself. What if it was a trap? Leading him into a Vex ambush to kill him. Slightly raising his gun again he replied.

"Prove it"

The Ghost looked confused for a second.

" _[I have your rifle. The one you found while exploring Old Russia.]"_

Grant looked at the Ghost. He had even more reason to believe that the Ghost wasn't tricking him. There was no way the Vex could reasonably have his rifle. In a flash of light that he recognized, but hasn't seen in a long time, his rifle appeared in mid-air, reaching forward he caught it before it hit the ground, and began to run his hand up it's side. The _No Land Beyond_ was a unique sniper that he had found while exploring the ruins of a city once called Moscow. Its brown woodwork style design shown brightly at him. It seemed to be the only thing not scarred by this dreaded place.

"So… Where is this 'way out' you speak of?"

" _[We will have to go further into the actual Vault to get there, I found a way to activate one of their time gates. I have no idea where we will wind up, but anywhere is probably better than here right now. But be aware once you begin to make your way towards it, the Vex will find you. It will be a hard fight all the way there.]"_

Grant thought of his options, even though there was only one realistic one. He could stay here, wandering aimlessly until he succumbed to insanity, or the Vex found him and used the Oracles to erase him from existence, or, he could throw caution to the wind and follow the Ghost for a chance to escape that fate. Checking to make sure he had enough rounds with his rifle to at least make it a good way towards his objective, he motioned for the Ghost to lead the way.

Vanishing into the air the Ghost spoke to him from within his mind. " _[You are going to have to go straight for a little while before you come across the entrance. I'll let you know when we are there.]"_

As he began to jog in the direction Ghost directed him in he thought of a question he hadn't yet asked.

"How long have we been in here Ghost?"

" _[I can't be certain Guardian. I had been trying to fight off the Vex's time distortion so I could keep track, but I lost track after around two hundred years. I really stepped up my efforts to find a way out when I witnessed you going a bit crazy two days ago.]"_

Grant started to think. What did he do two days ago?

Seeing Grant's confusion the Ghost answered his thoughts.

" _[You were just staring at yourself in some reflective metal from the Vault. You even took off your helmet and just stood there.]"_

The Hunter was shocked. That wasn't two days ago! That was just like an hour ago wasn't it?

Shaking his head in utter disbelief he responded.

"That couldn't have been two days ago! I just did that an hour ago!"

" _[The Vex distort time Guardian. What I witnessed as two days, you felt as an hour. You walked aimlessly down this ravine for over a day. Then you almost did the same thing but stopped yourself. Turn left here]"_

The Guardian was so distracted by that tibdit of information Ghost gave him that he almost missed the huge tunnel built in the classic Vex style. Preparing himself for the fight that was about to begin, he entered.

 **OOOOOOO**

The battle against the Taken was not going so well. It has only been a few months since the start and end of the SIVA Crisis. And now a new Hive monstrosity was attempting to claim the throne. Legions of Hive and Taken were preventing the fireteam of Guardians from reaching the new King. The vast booming of his _Abbadon_ echoed throughout the Dreadnaught's halls. Two Hunters were behind him sniping, while three Warlocks were giving fire support. Preferably he would've taken another Titan rather than a third Warlock, but the Vanguard was pressed for time and his normal fireteam wasn't available.

"Jerome on your right!" A member of the team called out.

Turning on his heel to face the right he saw an Ogre racing towards him, not bothering to aim the machine gun, he let loose. The fiery solar rounds tore through the Hive beast and before it made it to him, it disintegrated into ashes. Reaching up towards his chest he grabbed a heavy ammo synthesis from one of the three bandoleers he has draped over his chest plate.

Jerome-092 was well known around the Tower as being the only Guardian who only used heavy weapons during battle. He had no interest in the other types of weapons used by his fellow light wielders. He went towards every battle with a rocket launcher on his back and his _Abbadon_ within his hands. He received the machine gun after the ill fated campaign on the Moon. He was friends with the Titan that built it before the man died.

The gunfire in this section of the Dreadnaught died down as the Hive retreated further into the bowels of the ship. Taking advantage of the lull in the fighting, Jerome sat down on a ruined piece of the ship. Turning his neck to the side he heard a couple of pops come from the servos in his neck. He still doesn't know how the people in the Golden Age made Exos like him advanced enough that they could eat and drink without a stomach, and could simulate stretching muscles they don't even have.

"Getting tired old man?" A Warlock asked as she walked up to him. Evie was the only one with him right now that he has ever worked with before. She was a member of the Nightstalker Grant's fireteam along with a Titan named Nickolas before he disappeared in the Vault of Glass after following Kabr into that dreaded place. He had worked with her during the second raid into the Vault. The time when they actually managed to kill Atheon. The only thing she and Nickolas found of Grant was some torn pieces of his cloak. She currently had a piece of the cloak tied around her right forearm, while last he knew Nickolas wore a larger piece of it as his Titan Mark. He isn't sure if Nickolas still does though, the Titan had defected to join Osiris' cult shortly after they killed Atheon.

Giving a small laugh he removed his helmet. "You are almost as old as I am girl, you just missed the mark by a hundred years." Bringing a bottle up from his belt he took a swig of the drink, though he doesn't need to drink, it has become a habit of his.

Jerome looked at her, seeing his reflection in the mask of her Future War Cult helmet, the black metal and orange electric lines shining back at him. In a flash of light her helmet was gone too, her blue skin almost shining in the darkness, most of the lights were destroyed in the battle. Pushing some purple hair out of her face she sat next to him.

"Yeah. That means you are a hundred years older than me, before the Traveler arrived that would've made you ancient. Hand me that bottle when you're done."

Chuckling, he handed the bottle to her and looked around at the rest of the team. He recognized all of them from the Tower, though he never worked with any of them besides Evie. He also knew that two of them had been resurrected by their Ghosts during the Taken War. If only the Vanguard and sent him in with more than just four experienced Guardians. Then they wouldn't have to keep on eye on those two newbies. They aren't ready for this type of battle.

Looking back at Evie he saw her staring at the old cloak that was tied around her arm, a solemn look on her face. He sighed. "You miss him a lot don't you?"

Her head snapped up, she wasn't expecting to be asked anything. After sitting silently for a moment, she replied. "Yeah. You would think these things would get easier with time. But they don't. It has been five hundred years, and here I am, still moping about."

Jerome just sat there. He didn't really know what to say to her, sure he had lost friends before, none besides the creator of the gun sitting beside him were actually very close to him. She lost the man who took her and Nickolas in and mentored them, and became their closest friend. He also knows they tried to stop Grant from going, but he told them that he owed Kabr for something in the past, nobody knows what Kabr did for Grant, but it made Grant willing to follow a fool's dream to his own death.

Decided in the end not to reply, he stood up and transmitted his helmet back upon his head. "Alright! Break time's over! Let's get a move on people! This king isn't going to kill himself!"

The two new Guardians groaned in protest and Jerome gritted his teeth. These newest Guardians had no discipline, they had things easy, they didn't have to live through the time when the City almost never won.

The next few passages had no enemies to fight, and the raid team simply moved on at a relaxed pace. A flash of light appeared to their right as they were crossing a bridge. Far away down the Trenchline of the Dreadnaught on a bridge, a Guardian was killing Hive while seemingly making his way to a shrine in the middle of the bridge.

"NICKOLAS!"

The entire fireteam stopped and looked at Evie as she yelled over the side. Jerome frowned, surely she couldn't tell it was him from this far away right? But sure enough the Guardian across the way could be seen stopping and looking over. Nickolas, in full Osiris themed gear, barely gave a small wave before turning away. Evie gave one step back, you could tell she was a bit hurt, after all this time, and he wouldn't even give a decent response.

Shaking her head she gave one last look over to her old friend before motioning them to continue. Hive screams could be heard up ahead.

" _Once more unto the breach"_

 **OOOOOOO**

The butt of _No Land Beyond_ smashed through the head of the Goblin as Grant swung it like a bat holding the weapon by its' barrell. Knowing that Vex can survive without their heads the Hunter flipped the weapon around and jammed the end into the 'heart' of the machine and fired, the force of the weapon tearing the thing in half.

The battle through the Vault has been a hard slog. The halls were littered with Vex remains, and more of the constructs teleported in every minute. Seeing a Hobgoblin leave cover and begin to charge its slap rifle, Grant quickly reached into his void light and shadow stepped out of the way, landing in a crouched position he threw forward his arm, and out of his hand flew a flaming knife, he watched the flames spin end over end before slamming into the sniper, disintegrating it into ashes.

Quickly drawing the _Outlaw's Gambit_ he fired three rounds in quick progression around him, and three Vex fell. Sprinting forward he jumped up and activated the mini thrusters in his boots, giving him an extra jump to reach the ledge above him. Upon reaching it he found a Vex unit crouched behind cover, before it could respond he kicked its' knee joint, collapsing it to the ground, and stomped on its' head, crushing it. Pulling the old sniper from his back he stood from cover and picked off an enemy providing overwatch on a bridge he had to pass over.

He could feel his light slowly flowing back into him after being suppressed for so long. With his Ghost back he feels better than he has for what must have been over a hundred years. He could remember the names of the friends who he lost in this place, Kabr, Pahanin, Jane, Tyler, and Praedyth. With his memories, and sanity flowing back into him, he felt rage. Rage at those who held him here for so long, rage at himself for allowing himself to get trapped in the first place.

That rage was allowing him to push through the Vex as if they were nothing. Another Vex Goblin decloaked right behind him, prepared to strike, and with his mechanical right hand, he stopped the blow from coming and tore off the Minion of Darkness' arm, before driving his foot into its' chest, pushing it into the depths below.

Just a few hundred meters away was his objective, three Vex Timegates sat on an elevated platform, in his way, he could see the light from the eyes of a dozen Vex units, each preparing to tear him apart. He would not fall. He has been trapped in the dark too long for him to fail now.

The Nightstalker began to build up Void light within his hands as he sprinted towards the edge of the platform he was on, torrents of the energy came off in waves from his hands, the raw power he held in his hands was almost tangible within the ancient construct. Leaping off the edge, flying over the darkness below him, Grant shaped the Void energy into a bow, feeling the same rush he did when he first mastered the art so long ago. Drawing back a hand, an arrow formed within the weapon, and flew forward, the Minotaur it hit simply vanished into purple ash, and from the arrow, streams of Void light reached out and grasped the Vex, each being weakened by the light they so hated.

Landing next to one of his suppressed enemies, he lifted his hand cannon and fired once. The death of the single Vex unit sent a shockwave rippling through the tether, and all of the other monstrosities were destroyed. An explosion went off next to him and he was launched into the wall. Groaning, he picked himself up and dusted off his armor, a shard of rock from the wall was stuck in his metal leg, and so he tore it out.

On the next platform over, a Hydra sat, preparing another blast at him. When it flew, he reached into the Void once more and quickly flung himself to the side, the Void overtaking him in shadow. When the shadows faded, a new weapon was within his grasp, the shotgun had been a gift from the Hunter Vanguard Andal. It had the Vanguard symbol on the side of it, like all weapons the Vanguard distribute. The weapon was a prototype, he had been told. It was called _The Comedian_.

Sprinting forward he lept over the gap separating him and the large machine. He began to circle it, firing a shot at every weakness he could find within its armor. Pretty soon the thing was flaming, and it teleported to an unknown destination in order to survive. There were few opponents left standing in his way, but they soon teleported away. He knew it was a trap, and prepared himself for whatever they threw at him as he walked up the stairs towards the Timegates.

 **OOOOOOO**

The King is dead… Again.

The rest of the fireteam but him and Evie already left, she had managed to convince him to follow after Nickolas. She had refused to just leave without finding out what her old friend was up to. As they walked, the halls of the Dreadnaught eerily silent, his Ghost hovered around him, repairing cracks in his armor, grumbling all the way about how it would be easier if they weren't moving, and in a darkness infested ship.

Pretty soon they reached the bridge where they saw Nickolas earlier and within the center of the bridge stood a crystal, surrounded by Disciples of Osiris, all being directed by Nickolas.

Evie began to stop over to them. "NICKOLAS!"

All the Disciples stopped and looked before turning back to their business. The Titan leading them turned and began to walk towards them.

"Evie! I was hoping you would stop by after you were doing playing the Vanguard's lapdog." His accent was thick, sounded what records had as Old Russian.

Evie was indignant. "Lapdog! I wasn't the one who left their duty behind!"

Nickolas looked angry at her for that comment. "No you weren't! You were the one who gave up on our friend! I told you we could find him and you rejected the possibility!"

"Finding him is impossible Nickolas! He is dead!"

"No he isn't."

Those words seemed to his Evie like a Sparrow. How could he still be alive? At this point Jerome stepped forward.

"And how would you know that Nickolas?"

He nodded his head at the question. "I shall explain. This crystal here is one of millions. The Hive use them to monitor the Light. How? We don't know. But we do know that these crystals warned the Hive that we were coming and that is how we lost on the Moon the first time. That is how you, Evie, were seen while in stealth heading toward the Dreadnaught, and again while stealing Crota's soul. So we came here to tap into one using Vex technology, and managed to find traces of Grant's light, we know it's his because as he was the First Guardian, his light is naturally stronger than the rest of ours, and more accurately, his is the only one that can be traced to be currently located in deep, unexplored portions of the Vault of Glass."

Jerome and Evie were both stunned. Grant, one of the legendary Guardians people in the City tell stories about, still lives. He could be found.

Evie talked, her voice sounding weaker than normal, the shock of the news rattled the Awoken. "How do we get to him?"

Nickolas pointed toward a Hive rupture that they hadn't seen while walking toward him. "That is how. We have connected Vex technology to the rupture so you can make it into the Vault, but you are still needed to open it. You are Ascendant after all."

Evie began to walk towards it but Jerome stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure we should do this Evie? We should inform the Vanguard first."

Shrugging off the hand Evie nodded. "We have to Jerome. The Vanguard won't sanction this mission for fear of losing us. Better we just go don't ya think?"

Jerome sighed in defeat, or as much as an Exo could sigh. "Alright let's do it."

Nickolas made a sign towards the men operating near the rupture, and the Vex machinery began to activate. And the rupture opened, He and Evie looked at each other before walking through it.

It was a few seconds of blinding light before they could see where the were again, the darkness of the caves and Vex structures around them was oppressive, having landed on his knees, Jerome began to stand up before his helmet ran into something, glancing up he saw the barrel of a hand cannon being pointed at him.

Grant looked nothing like the records had. Everything about him was disheveled. The hand that held the weapon was mechanical, along with his left leg, all the way to the hip. His cloak, once a beautiful gold and black was torn and dirty, his once gleaming armor scarred and dull. There was no Void fire burning within the helm of the _Graviton Forfeit_ , his legendary helmet. Around him were Vex bodies, still burning from being destroyed. It seemed he had just escaped a firefight.

"GRANT!"

The handcannon went down as the smaller frame of a female warlock ran into him, giving him a big hug.

"...Evie?" Grant asked tentatively, it seemed as if he was unsure it was really her.

She didn't have any words, she just simply nodded her head while not letting go.

" _[Guardians, this is a nice reunion, but we should really work on opening the Timegate.]"_ Grant's Ghost said. The Ghost then flew over to one of the gates and began to work on it.

A static-like noise began behind them, and when the turned around one of the largest Vex constructs they have ever seen stood behind them. It was taller than Atheon, and on one arm, instead of the usual single cannon, was a tri-barreled cannon, dozens of Vex began to warp in around the Vex Mind. None opened fire, the Mind began to charge his cannon, and there was no cover on the platform. A familiar noise sounded as all of the gates opened behind them.

"LOOK OUT!" Grant yelled as he tackled Evie to the side, the Mind had fired while they were distracted. The first blast sent Grant flying into one of the gates, the other two destroyed that gate.

" _[Quick Guardians! Into the other gate! You cannot fight them all!]"_ Jerome's Ghost yelled. Jerome quickly grabbed Evie and ran through. Giving one last look behind them at the Vex attempting to storm them. A bright flash obscured his vision, and then they were out!

 **Authors Note:**

 **Well I hope you guys liked the new and hopefully (to you guys) improved LOAK. If some of you didn't understand what was going on in the beginning, Grant had been alone in the Vault for hundreds of years, his Ghost was off trying to find a way out, so his only true connection to the outside world was gone, and with the Vex constantly shifting Time and Reality within the Vault, his mind began to get whittled down. When his Ghost finally came back, he finally had an 'anchor' so to speak that began to pull him back into his own mind.**

 **His gear is as follows**

 **Head: Graviton Forfeit**

 **Arms: Scarlight Grasps**

 **Chest: Custom (looks like Nanomania in a way, but not made of Siva)**

 **Boots: Prime Zealot Greaves (with the mechanical leg obviously)**

 **Cloak: Watcher's Cloak (not gained from Trials, will be explained later)**

 **Shader: Stolen Chalice**


	2. Chapter Two: Man Out Of Time

**Authors Note:**

 **Welcome back to the next chapter of LOAK. A few things to note about this rewritten version is that it is going to be much grittier and a lot darker than my old one was shaping out to be. Commander Shepard in this version is female, and I have changed some slight things about the ME Universe to make it more my own for this story. Shepard in this story is in her early twenties, which is a bit young for her rank. I find it odd at how skilled Shepard is stated to be throughout the games and extended lore, and yet they don't get promoted sooner. In this Universe she is so skilled that she shot up the ranks rapidly. Anyway, onto the story.**

 _Disclaimer: I own neither Mass Effect nor Destiny_

 **OOOOOOO**

" _What do you consider a Guardian's true purpose?"_

" _What would I consider our purpose?"_

" _Yes."_

" _I would consider our purpose to be...um… well, we have many, but the chief purpose, or true purpose as you said, is to defend Humanity, as well as the Awoken and Exos I guess I should add."_

" _Not the Light? Ever since the foundation of the Vanguard a decade ago the main thing Guardians talk about saving is the Light."_

" _Well, they are delusional if they truly believe that. We all could still be in this boat if the Traveler never came to our system, or if he never created the Ghosts. In either case Guardians as we know them wouldn't exist. If the Light never came to us, and we still got to where we are now, people would rise up and defend what remains of us either way, even without the Light. The Light is simply the tool us Guardians use to make our job easier."_

" _So what you're saying is that Guardians would still be Guardians without the Light?"_

" _Yes. Though none of us current Guardians would exist since we would all still be dead. What makes up Guardians, the thing that truly makes us...us… is our willingness to fight and die to save innocent people, we can do that with and without the Light, should we somehow lose it, that will be the true test of whether or not we truly are Guardians. If someone quits because we don't have the Light, they are a fraud. If that person continue to fight for those who need to be defended without the Light, without the ability to resurrect, then they are truly a Guardian."_

 _-News Interview with the first Hunter Vanguard Grant-_

 **OOOOOOO**

The rain was coming down in a torrential downpour, but Grant continued on, the cover of the trees managed to slow the rain a tiny bit, but not much. It has been an hour since he was blown through the gate. He had landed on this unknown planet in the middle of a forest. He had his Ghost activate a distress beacon before continuing through the dense trees. His armor was burned and scarred from the battle he had just exited, but he himself hasn't felt better for hundreds of years.

" _{Guardian I am picking up comm signals coming into orbit. I can't understand the language, but I am working on downloading a translator they have on file.}"_

"You are already into their database Ghost?"

" _{Their encryption was pathetic, a Thrall could have gotten in with no problem.}"_

Overhead, some shapes exited cloud cover, their spotlights reflecting off the rain as they started to fly low over the trees, they were obviously searching for him. The shapes were obviously gunships, but with an avian look to them. They were curved inwards in the middle, with small wings on either side of the main body.

" _{They are heading towards a clearing a mile or so away from here.}"_

Grant nodded. "That is where I am heading then."

The Hunter took off in a sprint, as a precaution, he quickly switched his armor's shade into a mottled green, brown, and grey color to help camouflage him, the shining silver of _Stolen Chalice_ wouldn't help him at all. The purple flames of his helmet died down once more. As he ran through the woods he didn't make a sound, anyone watching from a distance of fifteen meters or more would have only seen a slight shadow pass in between trees before disappearing.

He reached the clearing in no time at all. The unknowns had already exited their gunships, their armor was red and black with a white skull painted on. Most of the aliens, as he could see now that they _were_ aliens, had four eyes, two on top of another two. A few of them though were much larger than the four eyed ones, standing around seven and a half feet tall, with large humps making up the tallest part, their heads were hunched over, they looked like a giant mix of a toad and lizard.

" _{Translation complete Guardian. Stand-by for comms}"_

" _-Comms check, reading green-"_

The aliens began to read off their communications, making sure all were working properly, the English was damn near perfect thanks to the translator, but the voice was still clearly not human. Nearly all of the aliens now had helmets on, but some simply had visors.

" _-Remember gents, when we find the man who set the beacon, capture him, we still owe the Hegemony for that botched slave grab.-"_

" _-Affirmative, capture, not kill, over.-"_

Grant began to back up from the edge of the clearing. " _Of course the aliens are hostile. They always fucking are."_

Once he was a good distance away, Grant pulled out the _No Land Beyond_. His newfound enemy was ordered to capture him, he doesn't have that drawback. He rested the worn rifle within a low-hanging Y branch on a tree. The perks of the iron sight over a scope was tantamount here. The medium-long range was not too far as to make the target acquirable, and his helmet's HUD made up the difference. Also, without a scope the rain couldn't block his line of sight by constantly covering the glass.

He lined up the iron sight with the head of what appeared to be the Commander of the aliens, if the way he was ordering them around was any indication. Once the weapon was in line, his helmet showed the stats for the wind and rain, seeing them, Grant adjusted his weapon by a tiny bit. The sniper began to relax, fighting the adrenaline that began to build.

 _*Breath in*_

 _*Breath out*_

His hands steadied and his mind went blank except for the feeling and thought of the rifle. He was in a Zen-like state that he remembered was once famous amongst Guardians. During his time, nobody could match his sniping ability. Now though? Someone probably can, it has been hundreds of years.

Time seemed to flow in slow-motion just for him, his target moving slowly as if he was in molasses. One final cycle of breathing and he was ready. His finger tightened on the trigger, and he could feel every single motion that followed, him and the rifle were one. He felt the mechanisms turn and unlock within the gun, he felt the exact moment the round went off, he felt the recoil, and his body flowed with it. Many make the mistake of fighting the recoil, but that throws their aim off.

The round left the barrel, and he knew the shot was good, but as had been the norm for so long with the Guardian, the Universe decided to mess with him. Stepping out from beyond a tree the exact second he fired was another soldier, the man had been answering 'nature's call'. The round fired smashed through the aliens helmet like a hot knife through butter, the man's head split open from the impact of the shot, brain matter coating the inside of his helmet.

" _FUCK!"_

The shot had stirred up the hornet's nest. Immediately all of the aliens began to find cover, and a few shot were launched in his general direction. His Zen-like state crashed down as adrenaline rushed into his system. Picking up the rifle, he turned and ran further into the woods.

" _-Where the hell did that come from!-"_

" _-THIS WAY FOLLOW ME-"_

The sound of snapping twigs and bodies crashing through the undergrowth was clear enough evidence that he was being followed. Shots began to snap through the air around him as they began to catch up enough to see him.

CRACK

A small tree next to him snapped in half from the impact of a shot, the splinters flying at such a velocity his shields activated to stop them.

" _-Remember! Shoot to wound! Not kill!-"_

Activating the mini-thrusters in his boots, Grant double jumped into the trees above him. Hopping from branch to branch the Hunter quickly stopped, turned, and let off a snapshot towards a flash of motion he saw coming his way. A dull thump symbolized that the shot went true and his target was down.

A bright flash went off and dominated the surrounding landscape, a flare floating slowly through the air. With the light shining Grant could see his pursuers. The red on their armor was not helping them blend in. Letting off another quick shot that sent another alien into the darkness, Grant turned and took off once more into a dead sprint. Quickly dodging a grenade that was launched at him, he heard a large crack, and stumbled. A thick tree branch got lodged in his metallic leg. He quickly snapped it before taking off once more.

" _I need to fill in that hole. It makes a weak spot."_

The trees were beginning to clear out. The landscape became more and more rocky and steep. A heavy object slammed into his side. Going with his momentum, his shoulder smashed sharply into the ground, but he kept going, quickly somersaulting over until he was crouched with one knee on the ground, and the other simply bent, with the sole of his foot on the ground. Standing before him was the alien that tried to tackle him.

" _Heh heh heh_ Not so tough now are ya Human? I was beginning to think you might actually be a threat! _HA_!" The lizard-like zeno laughed. The giant reached behind his back and pulled out a giant Warhammer.

The Guardian didn't bother to respond. Faster than the alien could react, Grant quickly drew _Outlaw's Gambit_ and fired, his hand drawing back the hammer before each shot. Six shot collided with the creature's helmet, cracking it open after punching through its shields. Each shot that hit the helmet made the crack larger and larger as the impact of the rounds increased.

The Hunter's opponent simply laughed at him. The lizard rushed him and swung its' hammer, which the Human quickly ducked under before drawing his combat knife and slicing it through the back of the creature's knee, forcing it into a stumble. His enemy charged at him once more, and again he ducked beneath the attack, this time kick his leg out into his enemy's leg. He heard a snap as the leg broke from the impact. This time the beast went down. Before it could get back up Grant planted his metal leg on its' chest, some prongs on his foot bent inwards and punctured into the armor, planting a firm foothold on the alien's chest.

The alien beneath the Hunter began to squirm to try and get out from beneath him, but failed as the more he struggled, the more pressure the Nightstalker put into his leg. The sound of ribs cracking resounded around the area, but the sounds of his pursuers catching up quickly covered it. Without saying a word, he shot a round through the squirming alien's head, ending the cocky bastard's life.

No even sparing a glance towards the latest kill in the Hunter's count he took off, the end of the forest was in sight, but the slavers chasing him were gaining ground, he took too long removing that threat. As he broke tree cover he saw a cliff ahead of him, with a crevice splitting it in two, he began to run toward that location. When he was halfway there, Grant glanced over his shoulder and saw his followers breaking the tree line. With a line of sight reestablished the rounds began to fly around him once more, turning on his heel he let off three hip shots with the _Gambit_ and two snipers fell, once moaning while another was ominously still. His third shot missed.

With them slowed once more, Grant made it into the crevice and kept running, steep rock walls on either side of him. He was running through the crevice for about a minute before he ran into a dead end that had rocks overhanging. Mixed with the storm, the dead end was pitch black. Turning once more, Grant waited for the fools to follow him. With a quick word to Ghost, his armor changed back into the gleaming steel color of _Stolen Chalice_. He began to draw void energy forward, balling it in his hands, then he waited, unable to be seen in the darkness, even with the silver shader.

 **OOOOOOO**

The thump of the Mako hitting the ground was familiar to her by this point, having completed multiple missions since becoming the first Human Spectre. She had been plotting a course for their next destination when Admiral Hackett contacted her and told her of a distress beacon on this planet. When the _Normandy_ had arrived they found a cargo freighter that had been modified by mercenaries in orbit. Not having enough time to clear the freighter and get down to the man who was obviously getting chased, she sent Kaidan with Ashley and Tali to clear it out while she took Wrex and Garrus down to help on the surface.

" _\- Comms Check: How are you doing down there Commander? -"_ Kaidan's voice appeared over the comms.

Responding quickly, Commander Shepard said, "We just got down here, following the sounds of gunfire right now. Good luck up there."

" _\- Roger that Commander -"_

The next minutes went by in silence, behinds the groaning protests of the Mako at her driving. Annika Shepard became infamous with her crew for her poor driving. Luckily for her ground team, the trees quickly became too dense to continue driving the Mako through.

Turning towards her two squad mates she told her plan. "Garrus, I want you to take the Mako around the forest and meet us on the other side while Wrex and I follow the path they took through the trees."

"Sure thing Shepard."

Trading places with the Turian, she and Wrex left the Mako and proceeded into the trees, the sounds of the Mako drifting further away. Gunfire still echoed through the air, the only other sound was the rain.

"What do you think this guy's chances of being alive are?" She asked Wrex, trying to break the silence.

"Slim to none. The Blood Pack has a whole ship up there. No singular man could hold against that many for long." The Krogan Battlemaster grumbled.

"Maybe he got lucky?"

"Look kid, you may be a Spectre now but you still have a lot to learn about how things work around the galaxy. The Blood Pack is brutal, I only said he had a slim chance of being alive because they might have decided to capture him and sell him into slavery. The distress beacon identified him as Human, your species isn't strong enough for a man to single handedly hold off a fuck ton of Batarians and Krogan."

Annika didn't respond beyond nodding her head. She was frustrated that Wrex was telling the truth, and that he called her kid, although she was technically in his eyes. She is the youngest Alliance Commander yet, and one of the youngest Spectres at age 22. Her incredible skill with Biotics, and uncanny leadership abilities launched her through the ranks.

Wrex lifted his shotgun. "Body ahead."

Entering a clearing the found what was obviously the Blood Pack's landing site, scorch marks burned the ground from where gunships landed. Near the far side of the clearing however, was what looked to be a Batarian, hard to tell though since the alien's head was gone, brain matter and blood in puddles around the body.

Pulling out her pistol, she motioned for Wrex to move forward. The two soldiers began to run as they advanced through the forest. The gunfire from up ahead was gone. As they sprinted through the trees, the bodies of mercs were spread out. Whoever was running still had managed to get shots in.

After a few more minutes of running they came across the corpse of a Krogan. What shocked them though was that the Krogan had knife wounds on him. The man they were pursuing managed to defeat a Krogan at knife fight range, though he finished him off with a gun.

"Huh. Guess the crazy bastard might have a chance to be alive after all." Her Krogan companion grumbled to himself.

One final gunshot cracked through the air, and all was quiet again except for the rain.

The trees were thinning quite rapidly, and soon they exited the forest to a scene from a warzone. A gunship was flaming on the ground with a hole punched through its' side. Bodies were scattered around, all centered on the crevice that was in the cliff ahead of them. The sound of the Mako rolling up symbolized Garrus' arrival to the scene.

"Howdy Shepard, found a short-cut about a mile away from where we split up." The ex-cop called out while exiting the Mako.

"Glad you could make it in time Garrus!" The N-7 rebutted.

Wrex had walked up to a Batarian that was leaning against a tree. He was obviously the Commander if the armor was anything to go by. Wrex pulled a chip out of the merc's helmet, obviously a combat recorder. But seeing the face of the Batarian froze as a cold feeling gripped her heart.

Garrus walked up to her. "You alright Shepard?"

"He… he was on Mindoir."

"Shit."

Mindoir was the Alliance's biggest failure, and Annika's worst memory. She was fifteen when the attack happened. And she remembers everything the Batarians did to her before the Marines broke through. Everything _this_ Batarian did. He led the squad that killed her mother and older brother in front of her. And did more.

"Shepard?"

She sighed, hoping her voice wouldn't brake. "Let's just say that when I was defending Elysium, I imagined every Batarian I killed was this one. Enough moping. Let us see what the recording will show us."

With her face practically set in stone, she set off towards the Mako. The Batarian was dead, and the galaxy was better for it. After she had become Spectre she had a computer added to the Mako that could play data files and videos that they came across during missions without having to go back to the Normandy.

As she started the recording, she fast forwarded through the areas they have already been, she only wanted to see what happened after the forest. Wrex and Garrus got into the Mako as well. Once they exited the woods in the video, she played the recording.

 **OOOOOOO**

" _\- There the bastard is! -"_

" _\- Get him! -"_

" _\- LOOK OUT! -"_

 _The man being pursued had stopped, turned around, and shot down some mercs before taking off again. The cloak disappearing into the crevice._

" _\- Sir! -"_

 _The camera turns looking at an approaching man._

" _\- The gunship is up above, the pilot is saying that the ravine is a dead end. We have him trapped! -"_

 _The camera bobbed up and down as the wearer nodded. A hand came into view, the recorder's hand, and pointed to half the men with him._

" _\- You all are with me! We are not giving him a chance to set up a trap! -"_

" _\- Yessir! -"_

 _The group of mercenaries entered the cliff, rocky walls towering above them on either side. The camera went through twists and turns as they traversed the winding path. At multiple increments men stopped moving with the group, setting up checkpoints as they went along, in case the target made it through._

" _\- This is the last turn sir. -"_

 _A nod was all that answered as the Commander and six other men turned the corner._

" _\- It is over Human! Surrender and we just might let you live! -"_

 _A voice called over from a cave at the end of the path._

" _\- Not gonna happen. Any last words? -"_

 _The men surrounding the camera laughed, the laughter stopped when in the darkness, purple flames erupted, illuminating the man's helmet. A deep purple bow formed within the man's hands as he began to run toward the mercenaries. He jumped, drew the bow, and the Commander turned and ran before the target could launch. When the camera was around the corner, facing three more mercs, the sound of the arrow hitting a soldier resounded through the rocks, and gunfire erupted._

 _The new mercs with the Commander raised their guns as the sounds got closer, before one of their own became visible at the turn. He was glowing purple as a stream of energy seemed to tie him to something on the other side of the wall. Bullets began to tear through the man, his body jerking with each shot before he simply dissolved into purple ash. The sound of sprinting and metal colliding on rocks got louder, before from around the corner came the Human man, jumping between the walls a few meters above them. The bow formed once more in his hands as he shot it between the defenders, the Commander started to run again, looking over his shoulder at the battle he was fleeing. The Human landed on the ground in a somersault, while in the roll, two shots erupted from him, dissolving two of the Batarian mercs. The last merc standing swung his rifle like a club trying to hit the evasive man. The intended target ducked underneath it, grabbed the mercenary's arm and and flipped the man over his shoulder, a snap sounding as the unfortunate soul's arm broke. A single shot tore through his head before the vision was obscured by the rock wall._

 _The Commander continued to run through the rocks, hearing the sound of the Human chasing him. Short bursts of gunfire before silence followed. Grenades went off and cries of pain echoed throughout the ravine. Coming upon the last set of mercs before the exit, the five men there stood up and raised their weapons. The second their target turned the corner, they opened fire. The shots missing as the man slid, his arm drawing back, and then flying forward, a knife glimmered through the air before embedding itself in the neck of mercenary, who promptly lit on fire and disintegrated. The sniper rifle the Human used earlier was back in his hands as he swung it like a club into the head of another man, his neck snapping from the impact. A loud bang came from the rifle as it fired, taking the head off another Blood Pack merc. With only two left, the Commander stopped firing and began to run once more, turning in time to see the metal hand of the Human dig into the helmet of a merc before ripping the thing right off the four-eyed alien's head, a knife to the head killed the Human's newest victim. The last man standing of the defense point looked to the Commander in fear and betrayal before the Human drew his oversized pistol and shot four times. Each one taking out an eye of the unfortunate Batarian. Blood spattered across the rocks and some made it to the camera._

 _The camera was dark for a few seconds, but the blood was then wiped off, and the grassy area outside the cliff was in sight. All of the mercenaries left and the Commander stood, ready to remove the threat. A gunship came out of the sky and trained its' weapons on the rocks. And a minute later, the Human walked out. His silver colored armor had burn marks and scars all over it, none of them could have been from the battle they were just in. His flaming helmet stared menacingly at the mercenaries._

" _\- Don't just stand there, Kill HIM! -"_

 _Right as the words were said, the Human seemed to light on fire, and with a flaming gun, took one shot at the Gunship, which burst into flames with a hole driven right through the middle. Two more shots ripped out, and the last Krogan of the group exploded into fire, which as it touched the other mercs lite them on fire, causing some to explode as well. The flames died and a rifle was in the Human's hands, gunfire causing the man's shield to flare again and again. The Human advanced, his cloak rippling in the wind behind him as three-round bursts exited his rifle, each killing a merc. Their weapons had no effect on the man. The mercs were dead and only the Commander remained. The camera moved backwards, showing that the Commander was backing up once more from the killer in front of him._

" _\- Please don't! I can pay you as much as you want! Just don't kill me please! -"_

 _The Human kept advancing._

" _\- Why would I do that? I wouldn't have gotten mercy. It was death or slavery for me. -"_

 _In a flash of light the man's helmet was off. Pale skin, jet black hair and golden eyes staring right into the camera. The huge revolver was in his hand once more, the barrel starting just below the camera, and a shot went off. The camera looked down and before the recording stopped, the hole in the Batarians' chest was clearly visible._

 **OOOOOOO**

The Mako was silent. The recording had shown them a man with a certain combat potential they have never seen before. The man they just watched slaughtered an entire company of hardened Blood Pack mercenaries as if they were nothing.

Garrus was the first to speak, "That was…"

"Not my best."

Annika's head snapped towards the front of the Mako, where, with his feet resting on the controls, was the man that they had just seen in the video. How he got in there, she had no fucking clue.

Garrus looked between the two. The Commander had a dumbfounded expression on her face, while he couldn't see the man's face through the helmet. "How the fuck did you get in here?"

The man was flipping a knife with one hand, catching it by the blade each time. "I hopped in when you guys were looking at good ol' four eyes over there. Figured getting in could go one of two ways. Either I stay cloaked until we reach civilization, or you guys can prove yourselves to not be on the same side as those bastards out there, and thus I would show myself. You can see which option was picked."

Shepard's shocked look turned into one of suspicion. "How do we know that we can trust you?"

The knife stopped flipping. The helmet turned to stare directly at her. It was a bit unnerving to the Commander. "You can't yet. But I would think it's a good start that I haven't shot you in the back while you were watching that."

Annika thought for a minute. While it is true that he hasn't attacked them, he could be trying to give them a false sense of security. Even now she could see subtle signs that he was on guard and prepared to attack. The Commander saw through the relaxed position the man was sitting in. She could see that the hand holding the knife was angled toward Garrus, and he was sitting in such a way that the revolver on his hip was easily accessible. None of that caution seemed directed towards her though, for reasons she didn't understand.

Making a decision, she decided to trust him enough to take him to civilization. After this mission they were going to Noveria anyway. She could drop him off there. "Before we leave can you tell us your name?"

"Grant. And your name?"

"Commander Annika Shepard. It's a pleasure to meet you." She reached out her hand and Grant took it. She could tell from his body language that he understood she didn't totally mean the second part. Trust isn't easily given after all. Grant moved out of her driver's seat and she took his place. After a quick call to Joker telling him that they were ready for pick-up, silence reigned in the Mako. A glance over her shoulder showed the tense atmosphere that was in the vehicle. Both of her squad mates were attempting to avoid looking at the temporary addition to their crew, while he kept his hand on his weapon at all times.

" _This is going to be a long drive"_

 **OOOOOOO**

She was staring at him again. It had been thirty minutes since he got on board this ship, the two aliens and the Human woman left. The spiky one was working on modifications to the APC that dominated the cargo bay. Ever since he got here, that woman at the weapons bench periodically turned toward him and simply stared. It was getting quite annoying.

"What the hell is your problem?" He barked out at her.

She jumped slightly, startled by his question. The overgrown lizard's head turned their direction, and the bird stopped working on the vehicle. After shaking off her shock she retorted in a slightly hostile voice.

"Just trying to figure you out. You have weapons and armor never seen before, abilities the likes of which have never been experienced, there was no crash sites on the planet so I don't understand how you got stuck down there, and you managed to defeat a whole detachment of Blood Pack by yourself, and yet you act as if we are the weird ones!"

He looked at her for a moment after the rant. "Uh huh. Alrighty then."

"Where'd you get the leg and hand?"

The Hunter's head snapped over to the overgrown lizard, Wrex was his name. "None of your damn business where I got them."

Grant knew he was being slightly hypocritical, with his asking what their problem was, while he was being quite aggressive himself. Even if he had wanted to tell him, what would he say?

' _Oh I got them from the Vault of Glass, an ancient fortress of a species known to warp time and space.'_

That wouldn't work at all. The Nightstalker is just hoping now that they get to their destination before he gets asked anymore questions.

As if the Traveler itself was listening to his thoughts, the elevator dinged right then and out of it came the Commander.

"Alright everyone we are on Noveria, Ashley you are going to be a part of the team for this mission, can you go get Liara?"

"Sure thing Commander."

Shepard turned in his direction and started walking towards him.

"You are free to go, though you might want to find a way to hide your weapons, you won't have Spectre authority on the planet with you."

"Won't be an issue. Thanks for the lift." Grant replied as he stepped into the elevator, the doors closing and taking him up to the exit of the vessel.

" _Time to find out where Jerome and Evie got to."_

 **OOOOOOO**

Halfway across the galaxy, on a criminal owned space station, a portal opened in a dark alley, and spit out two beings, before closing once more.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks for reading the newest chapter of LOAK, leave a review if you have any questions or comments and I will try to respond within the next chapter. Until next time.**


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